The date for Mehmet Ali Erbil and Serdar Ortaç's court appearance has been set

Famous singer Serdar Ortaç and comedian Mehmet Ali Erbil, who are alleged to have encouraged people to participate in such games of chance by advertising illegal betting in Istanbul, will appear in court in the coming days regarding the cases filed against them.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had requested that both individuals be tried on the grounds that they encouraged people to participate in betting games based on sports competitions.

It was stated that Ortaç and Erbil would be tried on charges of "encouraging individuals to play fixed-odds or mutual betting or games of chance based on sports competitions by advertising or other means" and face prison sentences ranging from 1 to 3 years.

Serdar Ortaç's trial will be held on December 24, 2024, at the Istanbul 25th Criminal Court of First Instance.

Mehmet Ali Erbil will be tried on December 30, 2024, at the Istanbul 20th Criminal Court of First Instance. The trial process will see both famous figures present their defenses, in which they maintain their innocence.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had issued detention warrants for 23 suspects, including social media influencers and some famous names, as part of an investigation into allegations of encouraging illegal betting.

It was determined that the suspects alleged to have appeared in illegal betting advertisements included singer Serdar Ortaç, presenter Mehmet Ali Erbil, former footballer Batuhan Karadeniz, social media influencers İbrahim Yılmaz, Muzaffer Zorbey Erkoçkar, Sefa Caner Sarıçam, and Aleksander Mensikof, a citizen of both Russia and Turkey.

In the operation conducted by the Istanbul Police Department, 16 of the suspects, including Mehmet Ali Erbil and Serdar Ortaç, were detained; it was learned that 5 of the suspects were abroad and efforts to locate the other 2 were ongoing.

Following their procedures at the police station, judicial control measures in the form of "house arrest" were imposed on Serdar Ortaç and Mehmet Ali Erbil, while 12 suspects, including Sefa Caner Sarıçam, Esma Sözen, Muzaffer Zorbey Erkoçkar, and İbrahim Yılmaz, were arrested, and it was decided that 2 suspects would be released under judicial control conditions.

The prosecutor's office had objected to the judicial control measure imposed by the criminal judgeship of peace on 4 suspects, including Erbil and Ortaç, and had requested that these suspects also be arrested.